A U.S. Air Force rendering of the VC-25B.
LONDON—Boeing is fighting through extensive issues on building the next-generation Air Force One with a new schedule to be finalized soon, and the company’s boss says it is investing in ways to improve the overall program.
First flight of the 747-8i-based VC-25B has slipped to 2026, despite a rebaselined schedule originally expecting delivery that same year. Boeing is dealing with extensive problems in building the two-aircraft fleet, including supply chain problems, limitations to cleared personnel available to build the jet, wiring design issues and finding a new interior supplier.
Ted Colbert, president of Boeing Defense and Space (BDS), told reporters July 21 ahead of the Farnborough Airshow here that the company is tasked with delivering “two perfect airplanes to the president of the U.S.,” and it has become a “very challenging program.
“They’re two very complex airplanes that have got to be built to a spec beyond anything that you can imagine, with the presidential quality,” Colbert said.
Boeing has spent a lot of time with the U.S. Air Force to work through the individual challenges. Through this process, the company has made “a ton of investment in our workforce, in training and proficiency, work on the factory floor as we improve our capabilities there, and we’ll just keep going through one step at a time.”
The company will report its latest earnings on July 31, and it is expected to announce a new charge on this program along with others that will have contributions to losses for BDS, Colbert said.
The Air Force is asking for $433.9 million in research, development, test and evaluation for the program in its fiscal 2025 request. Budget documents say the service wants to continue engineering and manufacturing development through the year—and transition to developmental test and evaluation.
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